A Toolkit for Gender Equality Experts

ADVOCACY WITHIN THE T20: A toolkit for gender equality experts

ADVOCACY WITHIN THE T20: A toolkit for gender equality experts Acknowledgements

This guide was written by Mariela Magnelli, with the input and com- ments from Abigail Hunt and Brenda Yu (Overseas Development Insti- tute), Lorena Alcazar and Norma Correa (Grupo Sofia), and Gala Díaz Langou and Florencia Caro Sachetti (CIPPEC), and support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). With thanks to Carolina Robino and the Gender Economic Equity Task Force members for their contributions to the work of the Task Force and their commitment to advance gender equity and women’s rights.

About the T20

The T20 is one of the G20’s engagement groups, where representatives of different civil society stakeholders take their demands and propos- als to G20 countries. It gathers think tanks and leading experts from around the world to produce concrete policy recommendations. During 2018 the T20 is co-chaired by the Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI) and the Center for the Implementation of Public Poli- cies for Equity and Growth (CIPPEC). More information here: https://t20argentina.org Table of Contents

SECTION 1: The G20, Gender and Engagement Groups 6 1. Introduction 8 › The G20: a brief history, purposes and processes › How the G20 works 2. The G20 and the Gender Equity Agenda 10 › History › Establishment of Women 20 › Establishment of Think 20 3. The G20 Presidency under Argentina 11 › Overarching theme: ‘Building Consensus for fair and sustainable development’ › Women 20 Argentina: Aims › Think 20 Argentina › About the T20 Gender Economic Equity Task Force › Gender Economic Equity Task Force Secretariat

SECTION 2: Gendering the T20. How does this happen? 16 1. Developing a tailored advocacy strategy 18 2. Developing a strong communications and dissemination strategy 20 3. Measuring success 21 4. Don’t forget the quick wins 22 5. Collaborating for strengthening the efforts 23 6. Establishing metrics 23 7. Funding and mobilising resources 25 8. Outcomes: What happened at the end 26

SECTION 3: Key lessons learnt 28 1. Gender within the G20 30 2. Task Force Dynamics, Participation and Continuity 31 3. The T20 Summit and Communiqué 31 4. Secretariat and Internal Communications 32 5. Takeaways 33

ANNEX 1 34 › T20 Communiqué’s section on Gender Economic Equity

About this publication

Gender based inequalities, in G20 countries and beyond, go against women’s human rights. Women are less likely than men to participate in the labour market, largely because of their responsibilities within households. And when women do work outside the home, they are disproportionately disadvantaged in comparison to men*.

The Group of Twenty (G20) has become a strategic space for advocacy work on gender equality and women’s rights. This entails, however, securing high-level political commitments from the country that Presides the G20 every year. During the G20 Argentine Presidency in 2018, a commitment was made to mainstream gender equality across the different streams of work for the G20. It is in the interest of women worldwide that their needs and experiences are taken into account at this important yearly forum.

This toolkit will explore the following questions:

› What are the commitments made by the G20 on gender equity?

› How can scholars, experts and interest groups maximise existing opportunities - e.g. the Think 20 Engagement Group - to further advance this agenda?

› What have been the key lessons learned from the 2018 advocacy efforts by the Think 20 Gender Economic Equity (GEE) Task Force?

* T20 Argentina (2018), Gender Economic Equity: An Imperative for the G20, page 7 SECTION 1 The G20, Gender and Engagement Groups 1. INTRODUCTION

The G20: a brief history, purposes and processes

The Group of Twenty (G20)1 is an informal forum for international cooperation and policy dialogue. Every year, the G20 brings together 20 of the world’s major advanced and emerging economies to discuss key issues of the international economic and financial agenda.2 These countries represent about two thirds of the world’s population, 85% of global gross domestic product, more than 75% of global trade and 80% of global investment.

Figure 1: G20 Global Impact

Source: G20 Argentina website https://www.g20.org/en

The G20 gained prominence in 2009, when regular leaders’ summits commenced. Yearly meetings have been taking place every year since 2009, and while some argue that the G20 did well to contain the financial and economic crisis at the time, others state that outcomes of recent summits have been disappointing. This is mostly due to the gap between agreed commitments and their implementation, as the G20 has a voluntary rather than a legal character, and therefore lacks a formal enforcement mechanism.3

That said, G20 member countries do have human rights obligations to respect, protect and fulfil.4 These include women’s human rights principles laid out in the Universa Declaration of Human Rights, the

1 The G20 is made up of 19 countries and the European Union (EU). These countries include: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. 2 Every year, a select group of countries are invited as guests, and key regional groups (i.e. AU, ASEAN and NE- PAD) and international organizations (IMF, WB, WTO, OECD, etc.) participate in the G20 Summits 3 Retrieved from: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2015/545712/EPRS_BRI(2015)545712_ REV1_EN.pdf 4 Oxfam (2014). The G20 and Gender Equality. Retrieved from: https://www.oxfam.org.nz/reports/g20-and-gender-equality

8 ADVOCACY WITHIN THE T20: A TOOLKIT FOR GENDER EQUALITY EXPERTS Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA), among others. These rights-based and development frameworks, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), integrate commitments to women’s rights and gender equality that G20 countries have a duty to work towards.

There is an increasingly growing space to work on gender equity and women’s rights issues within the G20. This includes the Women20 Engagement Group and, in 2018, the newly formed Think 20 Gender Economic Equity Task Force. However, to take advantage of these opportunities, scholars and experts working on women’s economic empowerment and women’s rights around the globe must be aware and informed of the inner workings of the G20 and the spaces currently available for strategic advocacy. They must also engage with the G20 early in the process for greater impact.

How the G20 works

The G20 has no permanent staff or secretariat. Rather, its Chair rotates annually and is selected from the G20 members. The current presidency is responsible for coordinating the Group’s work and set- ting the G20 agenda, in consultation with other members and the Troika, a revolving three-member management group of past, present and future G20 chairs.

In addition, seven Engagement Groups are officially recognised for providing advice and informing the G20’s decisions. Each group produces Policy Briefs and holds multiple events throughout the year, including a Summit where the Communiqué for G20 Leaders is launched. These engagement groups include:

1. Business 20 (B20), comprised of business leaders 2. Think 20 (T20), comprised of think-tanks and academics 3. Labour 20 (L20), comprised of organised labour 4. Civil Society 20 (C20), comprised of civil society groups 5. Women20 (W20), comprised of Delegates from each of the 20 countries 6. Youth20 (Y20), comprised of young leaders 7. Science20 (S20), comprised of scientific experts

+ THE G20 TRACKS

The work of the G20 is generally divided into two tracks: The FINANCE TRACK comprises all meetings with G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, and their deputies. Convening several times throughout the year, they focus on financial and economic issues, such as monetary, fiscal and exchange rate policies, infrastructure investment, financial regulation, financial inclusion and international taxation. The SHERPA TRACK focuses on broader issues such as political engagement, anti-corrup- tion, development, trade, energy and climate change, gender equality, among others. Each G20 country is represented at these meetings by its relevant minister and by its designated sherpa, or emissary, designated to personally represent the head of state or government at G20 meetings and Summits.

Gender Economic Equity 9 Figure 2: G20 Engagement Groups

Source: G20 Argentina website https://www.g20.org/en

2.THE G20 AND THE GENDER EQUITY AGENDA

History

In 2012 Los Cabos Declaration, for the first time, G20 leaders committed to tackling the barriers to women’s full economic and social participation, as well as expanding economic opportunities for women in their countries.5

In 2014, during the Australian G20 presidency, UK-based think tank Chatham House and the Aus- tralian National University jointly organized the first International Policy Forum on gender equality at the G20. The forum provided a space for dialogue on gender-inclusive growth in G20 countries, leading to a series of recommendations which were presented to sherpas, the designated emissaries for G20 countries, for discussion. One of the recommendations adopted by the Leaders was the commitment to reducing the gender gap in labour market participation by 25% in 2025.6 The OECD is the organism in charge of monitoring this commitment. If achieved, it would bring more than 100 million women into the labour force and would add between 1.2 and 1.6pc point growth by 2025.7

Establishment of Women 20

The W20 was established during the 2015 Turkish Presidency to focus specifically on gender equality and economic inclusiveness within the G20. The main purpose for the group is make international economic governance more gender-responsive.

Unlike other engagement groups, the Women20 is not an open space but works through a number of delegates, appointed by each of the twenty members. From the beginning, delegates to the W20 were mostly composed by representatives of transnational firms, businesses and foundations. During the 2018 Argentine Presidency, the list of delegates was broadened to be more inclusive of rural and grassroots women from the G20 members states.

10 ADVOCACY WITHIN THE T20: A TOOLKIT FOR GENDER EQUALITY EXPERTS Every year, the delegates participate in a dialogue and consultation process on the main priorities for the year, leading to a final W20 Communiqué, which must be agreed by consensus during the W20 Summit Delegates Session. Over the last five years, the main achievements of the W20 was their contribution to putting gender equality on the global economic agenda, and shifting economic governance from gender-neutral to gender-inclusive.8

Establishment of Think 20

Created in 2012 under the Mexican presidency, the Think 20 (T20) is a network of research institutes and think tanks for G20 countries, increasingly comprised by think tanks from non-G20 as well. The T20 provides research-based policy advice to the G20, facilitates interaction among its members and the policy community, and communicates with the broader public about issues of global importance.

The first Think 20 meeting took place in February 2012 in Mexico City, where think tank representatives from 15 countries came together to discuss priorities and evidence-based recommendations ahead of the leader’s meeting in Los Cabos. In Australia in 2014, the Lowy Institute for International Policy organized the Think 20 process, including a meeting in December 2013 with representatives from 30 think tanks. In advance of the meetings participants submitted papers identifying “specific actions and achievable outcomes that the G20 should pursue in 2014”. In turn, these policy recommendations were later published at “Think 20 Papers 2014: Policy Recommendations for the Brisbane Summit.9

3.THE G20 PRESIDENCY UNDER ARGENTINA

Overarching theme: ‘Building Consensus for fair and sustainable development’

The overarching theme chosen by Argentina for its presidency of the G20 was “Building consensus for fair and sustainable development.” This included three main priority areas: the future of work, infrastructure for development and a sustainable food future, with gender mainstreaming as a crosscutting issue. It was during the World Economic Forum meeting in January 2018 that Argentine Pres- ident Mauricio Macri committed to mainstreaming gender throughout the entire G20 agenda.10 He

5 Oxfam (2014), The G20 and Gender Equality, retrieved from: https://www.oxfam.org.nz/reports/g20-and-gender-equality 6 Chatham House, Gender and Growth Initiative, 2018 7 https://www.oecd.org/g20/summits/brisbane/ 8 Chatham House (2018), New Frontiers in Gender-responsive Governance. Five years of the W20. Retrieved from: https://www.chathamhouse.org/publication/new-frontiers-gender-responsive-governance-five-years-w20 9 Retrieved from: http://www.t20turkey.org/eng/pages/t20studies.html

Gender Economic Equity 11 declared that his Presidency would “boost women’s empowerment, the elimination of gender dispari- ties in employment, science, technology and education, and protection from all forms of gender-based violence.”11

To operationalize this mandate, a Diplomat was appointed within the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure the mainstreaming of gender across G20 working groups and engagement groups. The perception amongst different engagement groups was that the mandate and objectives of this position were not entirely clear. There was also a lack of accountability regarding the governmental and engagement groups’ efforts to mainstream gender issues in their agendas. Despite this lack of clarity, the commitment by the Argentine Presidency was welcomed, and leveraged by several actors, including the newly formed Think 20 Gender Economic Equity Task Force (more on the Task Force below).

Figure 3: Priorities for the G20 Argentina

Source: G20 Argentina website https://www.g20.org/en

Women 20 Argentina: Aims

In 2018, the aim of the W20 was to promote various efforts advanced by the international community. The W20 Argentina had four specific priorities, which included: women’s labour inclusion, women’s financial inclusion, women’s digital inclusion and rural women. These priorities responded to different G20 commitments to women’s equality:

› Women’s full economic and social participation, according to the Leaders’ Declaration of Los Cabos in 2012. › Women’s financial inclusion and education based on the Leaders’ Declaration of San Peters- burg in 2013. › A reduction of 25% in the gap in the labour participation rates between men and women of the G20 countries, for 2025, based on the Leaders’ Declaration in Brisbane in 2014.12

10 Retrieved from: https://www.g20.org/es/noticias/la-agenda-de-genero-atraviesa-el-g20-en-2018 11 Overview of Argentina’s G20 Presidency 2018, Building Consensus for Fair and Sustainable Development, Bue- nos Aires, 1 December 2017. Retrieved from: https://g20.argentina.gob.ar/en/overview-argentinas-g20-presidency-2018 12 Retrieved from http://w20argentina.com/en/historia/

12 ADVOCACY WITHIN THE T20: A TOOLKIT FOR GENDER EQUALITY EXPERTS Think 20 Argentina

During the Argentine Presidency of the G20 in 2018, the Centre for Implementation of Public Policies promoting Equity and Growth (CIPPEC) co-chaired the Think 20 (T20) engagement group together with the Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI).

In 2018, the Think 20 was comprised of 10 task forces, focusing on various issues from global governance, to climate change, to trade and investment. The T20 Argentina was launched with an Incep- tion Workshop in February 2018 in Buenos Aires. Each task force was comprised of members from around the globe, including non-G20 countries. They held online and offline forums, and drafted dozens of evidence-based Policy Briefs13 with recommendations for the G20 Leaders.

The T20’s work peaked in September 2018 during the Think 20 Summit, which brought together over a thousand experts, Argentine government officials, representatives of international organizations and the business community for two days of intense work. During the opening session, CARI and CIPPEC officials presented the president of Argentina, Mauricio Macri, with the

T20 Communiqué, a document with the main recommendations identified during the year.14 In this role as Co-Chair of the Think 20 that CIPPEC joined forces with Chatham House to create a specific task force on Gender Economic Equity at the T20.

About the T20 Gender Economic Equity Task Force For the first time since its establishment in 2012, the Think 20 set up a Task Force on Gender Econom- ic Equity. The GEE Task Force had the objective of strengthening the gender perspective within T20, and fostering more concrete actions on gender equity based on evidence for the G20 Leaders. Within the Think 20, the Secretariat worked to ensure that gender equity was mainstreamed across all T20 Task Forces and that policies that led to a greater representation of women within the Think 20 were also guaranteed. Building on the need to fulfil women’s rights and the “business case” for gender equality, the task force had a specific focus on women’s economic empowerment.

With its constituents, the Task Force sought to facilitate the free exchange of views and ideas and table concrete, relevant and feasible policy options in support of the G20’s mandate to promote strong, sustainable and balanced growth. Ultimately, the Task Force sought to influence debates and research within the T20, with other G20 Engagement Groups, and within the G20 Governmental Groups to ensure that these conversations were not gender blind, and that women’s needs and experiences were incorporated into the final G20 Leaders’ Statement.

After an initial outreach strategy by the Secretariat, the task force became a solid space comprised of 56 researchers from 43 think tanks in 19 countries from around the globe. Out of the 56 researchers and experts, 50% of them were based in the Global South, and 92% of them were women. This last point was a great success given that women remain underrepresented within G20 structures and processes, including the Think 20 Engagement Group.

13 Policy briefs are short documents that clearly explain an issue and include evidence to support it. T20 Policy Briefs also include a clear section with recommendations for G20 leaders. 14 Retrieved from https://t20argentina.org/over-a-1000-people-from-68-countries-participated-in-the-t20-summit-at-the-cck/

Gender Economic Equity 13 Gender Economic Equity Task Force Secretariat The Task Force Secretariat was comprised of two Co-Chairs and a Coordinator. The Co-Chairs were representatives from CIPPEC and Chatham House, and the Coordinator was based at CIPPEC, in Bue- nos Aires.

The Secretariat worked to: › Gather researchers from around the globe to join the Task Force › Convene conference calls and conversations with members › Develop joint policy briefs on women’s economic equity › Coordinate advocacy of members › Engage in direct advocacy with G20, liaising with other groups › Organise panel events in Argentina and internationally, including four panel events at the T20 Summit in September

During weekly Coordination calls, the Secretariat identified and responded to key advocacy moments and opportunities, monitored the work of the group and came up with new ways to ensure the work was disseminated and incorporated into the agendas of different G20 actors.

14 ADVOCACY WITHIN THE T20: A TOOLKIT FOR GENDER EQUALITY EXPERTS + THE IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN SCHOLARS AND EXPERTS ENGAGEMENT AND PARTICIPATION IN GLOBAL POLICY DEBATES: A CALL TO ACTION

Social Sciences are essential to improve our understanding of the main policy challenges and to propose innovative solutions. However, while overall women are evenly represented in this area of knowledge, they have limited participation in panels, media, and in leadership positions in government and academia.

Women face a number of barriers in their career progression, which manifest in a stagger- ing erosion of professional women at every stage of the career ladder. These challenges are the product of a series of factors that are intermingled, exacerbating the difficulties women face, including subtle mechanisms of gender discrimination, differentiated valuations about their work, care responsibilities that fall disproportionately on women and domestic and professional life balance tensions. The lack of women in the academic and policy world is not just a problem of social equality and justice, but also a loss of talent and perspectives that could enrich the quality of policy analysis, formulation and implementation.

To contribute to overcome this problem Grupo Sofia - a network of women scholars from think tanks and universities in Peru -, is committed to achieve gender equality in Social Sci- ences and Public Policy from a global south perspective. To promote these changes, Grupo Sofia implements two strategies:

1. Produce evidence of gender inequalities and improve their understanding 2. Strategically advocate to raise awareness and promote solutions to improve women scholar participation in academic and policy debates.

Based on Grupo Sofia advocacy campaign #WomenKnow, this “Call to Action” is proposed to raise awareness and promote women experts and scholars participation in public events, expert panels and research, including G20 policy engagement spaces:

1. Ask if there are women among the speakers or panelists when you are invited to public debates, policy making or academic events. 2. Recommend women who could be invited to such events as experts (not only as moderators!). 3. If you find yourself on a panel with only men, highlight the absence of women and the importance of gender balance in academic and public debates. 4. Study and disseminate information about gender gaps in different areas, including the implication of the care economy in women professional trajectories 5. Include academic work authored by women when elaborating policy briefs and other research products. 6. Promote mentoring, support and networking among women professionals of different generations. 7. Encourage your colleagues to join you in this commitment.

Source: Grupo Sofía (2018). More information available on http://www.gruposofia.org.pe/

Gender Economic Equity 15 2 SECTION Gendering the T20. How does this happen? 1. DEVELOPING A TAILORED ADVOCACY STRATEGY

Aims and Objectives

Identifying the GEE’s aims and objectives was crucial when engaging with the T20 and G20 processes. Developing strong objectives allowed the group to tailor its advocacy and communications strategy to the key audience, including influencers and decision makers. Having a clear message also allowed GEE members around the globe to speak about the group’s work and recommendations while being in line with each other. The GEE Task Force had five main objectives:

1. Mainstreaming gender equity issues across the Think 20 2. Increasing women’s representation in Think 20 spaces 3. Creating a network of experts working on women’s economic empowerment from G20 countries, including non-G20 actors from the Global South 4. Supporting the W20 priorities with evidence-based analysis 5. Ensuring a stronger gender perspective within the final G20 Leaders’ Communiqué

What is advocacy?

Advocacy is a process of influencing selected people or institutions in order to achieve desired policy, practice, social, behavioural or political changes that will benefit particular groups.15

Figure 4. Five choices of advocacy approach

Source: Ian Chandler (2011), The Pressure Group Consultancy

The GEE Task Force’s approach to advocacy was mostly to work on collaboration -with other G20 engagement groups, and within the Think 20-, direct persuasion with key targets, and building support from influential stakeholders. For instance, the GEE Task Force used these three strategies by jointly authoring communiques and media press releases to respond to a lack of gender perspective in the work of other G20 groups, from both tracks.

15 Southern Voices on Climate Change (2011). Start Here! Introducing Advocacy and the Climate Change Advoca- cy Toolkit

18 ADVOCACY WITHIN THE T20: A TOOLKIT FOR GENDER EQUALITY EXPERTS Stakeholder mapping and developing key messages

Understanding your audiences is key to developing your messages. This requires a stakeholder mapping, this is to say, identifying the key actors in the context you are working in and, more importantly, your advocacy targets.

+ IDENTIFYING ADVOCACY TARGETS

There are two types of advocacy targets: 1. Primary targets -also known as decision makers- are the people who have the pow- er to make the changes you want to see.

2. Secondary targets -also known as influencers- are people who have influence or connections with decision makers.

Be creative about who you will work with as an influencer. This is an opportunity to strengthen alliances with others who are also looking at how to influence the G20 agenda. It is crucial to identify the right people or you will waste time and effort.

Source: Womankind Worldwide (2016). Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals to advance women's rights and gender equality: An advocacy guide. London.

Key audiences for the GEE Task Force

Building support with stakeholders within the T20 Team, across the G20 structure and within the local government was key to ensuring effective influencing work. Identifying the key audiences for the GEE Task Force took place during the stakeholder mapping stage, but this list was constantly revisited. The key audiences for the GEE work included: › The G20 Governmental Track Working Groups › The W20 and other engagement groups › The Argentine government, including Ministries and civil servants › The gender economic equity academics and experts around the world › Other civil servants, i.e., Canadian Civil Servants working on the G7 process

How did the GEE develop its key messages?

The key messaging for the GEE Task Force’s advocacy work were based on the recommendations identified in the seven Policy Briefs produced by the members. In this sense, it was a bottom-up approach to developing advocacy messages. The Policy Briefs developed by the Task Force followed the four priorities identified by the Women20 Engagement Group: women’s labour inclusion, women’s digital inclusion, women’s financial inclusion and rural women. Further, a number of Policy Briefs

Gender Economic Equity 19 were developed based on the priorities identified by the group during the Think 20 Inception Work- shop in February 2018 and subsequent conference calls.

The objective of these briefs was to gather up-to-date literature on issues of relevance for women’s economic empowerment, while at the same time presenting concrete recommendations for G20 members. The GEE Task Force developed the following policy briefs:

1. Achieving “25 by 25”: Actions to make Women’s Labour Inclusion a G20 Priority 2. Bridging the Gender Digital Gap 3. Financial Inclusion for Women: A Way Forward - Jointly authored by the T20 GEE Task Force and the W20 4. Economic Empowerment of Rural Women 5. Gender Mainstreaming: A strategic Approach 6. Gender Economic Equity and The Future of Work: A Future of Work that Works for Women 7. The Imperative of Addressing Care Needs in G20 Countries - Jointly authored by the T20 GEE Task Force and the W20

2.DEVELOPING A STRONG COMMUNICATIONS AND DISSEMINATION STRATEGY

Communication Strategy

The GEE task force worked alongside the T20 communications team to design a communications strategy that would influence decision-making during the G20 Summit. Policy Briefs were published and disseminated both on the T20 Argentina website and social media platforms, as well as the G20 Insights Platform, the T20 Engagement Group’s research dissemination platform. Eight blog posts on gender issues were published on the T20 Website, and most of them were available in both English and Spanish. The T20 official Twitter account was used to disseminate the policy and advocacy work of the Task Force as well.

16 Womankind Worldwide (2016). Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals to advance women's rights and gender equality: An advocacy guide

20 ADVOCACY WITHIN THE T20: A TOOLKIT FOR GENDER EQUALITY EXPERTS + THINK 20 GEE DISSEMINATION STRATEGY

During the year, the T20 GEE task force organised and participated in multiple national and international events to promote and exchange knowledge and information, and to identify solutions and build consensus on key gender equity issues amongst G20 members, engagement groups and key audiences. These events include:

› A meeting at the T20 Inception Workshop in February in Buenos Aires. › A panel event at the Global Solutions Summit in Berlin (May), with over 1,100 participants, including official delegates from T20 Argentina and T20 Japan, Nobel Laure- ates and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. › A panel event within the Gender Series at the International Development Research Centre’s headquarters in Ottawa › A panel event at the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE) yearly Conference in upstate New York, with over 240 participants. › A closed roundtable event at the Overseas Development Institute in London, at- tended by 12 Task Force members and gender experts from London. › A Plenary Panel, two Parallel Events, and a Side-Event at the Think 20 Summit, with over 2,000 people viewing the GEE Plenary Session via live stream

Task Force Co-Chairs and Members also presented the GEE TF recommendations at the following fora: › W20 Labour Inclusion Round Table at the Think 20 Summit in Buenos Aires, with over 1,000 people from 68 countries in NYC in June. › Chatham House International Policy Forum in London in July. › The Alliance for Financial Inclusion Global Policy Forum is Sochi, Russia. › A Sherpa Track Employment Working Group meeting in Buenos Aires (focusing recommendations on Gender and the Future of Work). › A Sherpa Track Development Working Group meeting in Tucumán, Argentina (focusing recommendations on the fulfilment of the “25 by 25” Commitment and the Care Economy).

The events listed above were strategic fora at which to share the GEE’s recommendations and the Policy Briefs to push the GEE agenda. They also aimed at engaging new gender experts into the T20 process, by showing the relevance of this international fora for advocacy. Ultimately, the aim was to ensure continuity of the GEE Task Force and/or the inclusion of gender equity issues in future T20.

3.MEASURING SUCCESS

Measuring success is crucial to understand what change has taken place during the year and to identify whether the Task Force’s work had an impact in the overall G20 process. This requires constant monitoring of documents such as Communiqués and press releases by key stakeholders. At the national level, agreeing robust and ambitious indicators to accompany implementation strategies is essential to tracking changes agreed by Governments.16 At the international level, the GEE found that monitoring was difficult for members in different G20 countries given the lack of accountability mechanisms and transparent reporting on behalf of governments.

Gender Economic Equity 21 4.DON’T FORGET THE QUICK WINS

No All-Male Panels

During the Co-Chairs meeting in Berlin in May, following the Global Solution Summit, the T20 Policy and Research team announced that no all-male panels would be allowed during the Think 20 Sum- mit in September. This was a great win for both the Task Force Secretariat as well as other partners, including the GEE Canadian donor IDRC, who had been actively advocating for this ruling. Further- more, CIPPEC itself developed an internal Gender Policy which included a ruling that CIPPEC would not organize or participate in all-male panels.

As a result of this ruling, 37% of the 204 speakers at the Think 20 Summit were women. This is an important step forward from the Inception Workshop, where there were two all-male panels, 28% of women speakers and only one female keynote speaker out of a total of five (20%). Overall, the T20 Sum- mit was almost equal in terms of participation of men and women, with 47% of women and 53% of men in attendance. This had been one of the main objectives of the GEE Task Force from its inception.

Engaging with other T20 Task Forces to mainstream gender

The GEE Secretariat actively worked to advocate for a greater emphasis on the gendered implications of T20 recommendations within the Future of Work task force. This was a specific objective by the Task Force because Future of Work was one of the Argentina Presidency’s priorities for the G20. Further, the literature suggests that the digital/automation processes will have an impact on gender inequality, affecting women disproportionately.

The GEE Secretariat and members held several conversations with the Future of Work Co-Chairs, which resulted in the drafting of a brief focusing specifically on Gender and the Future of Work. This, in turn, meant that an entire paragraph on the gendered implications of the future of work was included under the Communiqué’s section on the Future of Work:

+ T20 COMMUNIQUÉ: GENDER UNDER POLICIES AND INSTITUTIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF WORK

“Ensure that the future of work also works for women. This requires addressing increasing care needs and enabling the creation of jobs for women in the digital economy, reducing the digital and STEM divide between men and women and investing in gender-focused, context-specific evidence on the impacts of new trends such as the gig economy and automation, recognizing that the trends will play out differently for men and women.”

Source: T20 Argentina Communiqué (2018), retrieved from: https://t20argentina.org/publicacion/the-t20-communique/

22 ADVOCACY WITHIN THE T20: A TOOLKIT FOR GENDER EQUALITY EXPERTS 5.COLLABORATING FOR STRENGTHENING THE EFFORTS

Women 20 and Women’s Financial Inclusion

Through a series of meetings with the Women20 Co-Chairs at the beginning of the year, the GEE Sec- retariat was able to broaden the W20’s scope and ideas on women’s financial inclusion, from a narrower view on entrepreneurship and micro-loans to more holistic recommendations that address all the different barriers women face. This more holistic approach also looked at the ways in which social norms constrain women’s access to financial services worldwide. The result of this process was the production of a joint Policy Brief with the W20, available on the T20 Argentina website. 17

B20 Communiqué and Document on Gender Equality

Throughout the year, the T20 Secretariat reached out to the B20 Secretariat and Team multiple times to support and advocate for gender mainstreaming across the B20 Policy Briefs. The GEE Secretariat shared Policy Briefs and held informal discussions with the B20 Policy Sherpa and Policy Officer regarding the space for gender equity within the B20 Policy Briefs and Communiqué.

The B20 Communiqué placed gender equality at the centre of its conceptual framework, incorporated gender equality as a key priority for the B20 and mainstreamed gender equality through certain sections of the Communiqué. The Communiqué was handed to President Macri during the B20 Summit in October 2018. Furthermore, the B20 published a “B20 Declaration: Action Points on Gender Equality”. In a conversation with B20 members of staff, the GEE Secretariat was able to confirm that this document had been inspired in and based on the W20 and T20 GEE Task Force Policy Briefs.

Both these examples highlight the importance of working with influencers throughout the G20 process.

6.ESTABLISHING METRICS

A T20 Communiqué with a strong gender perspective

The T20 Communiqué is the final document summarizing the main recommendations from the 10 Task Forces which is presented to the Leaders at the G20 Summit. There was a significant increase in the number of mentions to the words “women” and “gender” in the T20 2018 Communiqué. The T20 Germany Communiqué from 2017 mentions the word “gender” only 3 times (and zero mentions of the

17 Think 20 Argentina (2018). Financial Inclusion for Women: A Way Forward. Retrieved from: https://t20argenti- na.org/publicacion/financial-inclusion-for-women-a-way-forward/

Gender Economic Equity 23 word women), while in the T20 Argentina Communiqué, the word “women” appears 45 times and the word “gender” appears 27 times (a total 72 mentions).

The 2018 T20 Argentina Communiqué has gender economic equity at its heart, with an entire paragraph on gender in the “Vision” or introductory section of the document. Gender equity issues are also mainstreamed throughout the document, though not all Task Forces incorporated a gender perspective into their sections of the Communiqué.

In the “Vision” section of the T20 Communiqué, which is in essence an introductory summary of recommendations comprising all T20 task forces, the following paragraph was included:

+ COMMUNIQUÉ VISION

“Closing gender gaps must be at the heart of this new social contract. Women’s participation in the world of paid work has slowed over the last forty years and it remains far below that of men. This is basically explained by the unequal distribution of domestic and care work, most of which is performed by women. Gender economic equity is imperative for the global economy. The G20 is responsible for making concrete progress on this and is in a position to do so. In 2014, the organization recognized this duty by committing to reducing the gender gap in labour market participation rates by 25% by 2025. The new social contract needs to include a crosscutting gender perspective that will contribute to greater equality and sustainable growth.”

Source: T20 Argentina Communiqué (2018), retrieved from: https://t20argentina.org/publicacion/the-t20-communique/

Because the GEE Secretariat was able to input into the Communiqué before it was published, finding ways to mainstream gender across the document, the words “gender” or “women” also appear under the recommendations for the “Global governance for social cohesion” task force, and the “Climate action and infrastructure for development” task force. Finally, the Gender Economic Equity section of the Communiqué the Gender Economic Equity section of the Communiqué was 441 words long, a great success given the overall lack of a gender perspective in the T20 Germany Communiqué from the year before. 18

18 The full text is included in Annex 1.

24 ADVOCACY WITHIN THE T20: A TOOLKIT FOR GENDER EQUALITY EXPERTS 7. FUNDING AND MOBILISING RESOURCES

Mobilising and securing resources was essential to the work of the GEE T20 Task Force. Access to financial resources drastically increased the possibility of GEE members participating in key advocacy opportunities. It also allowed members to meaningfully participate in the production of policy briefs, by covering for their time. To a large extent, GEE members ‘self-funded’, investing their time to produce the policy briefs, participate in meetings and review materials. Ultimately, the cost for members’ participation was absorbed by the organisations they belonged to. This created a situation where not all members could participate fully in the process.

The Task Force received core funding from the Canadian International Development Research Cen- tre (IDRC). This included the Coordinator’s salary as well as overheads for researchers at CIPPEC, including the Task Force Co-Chair based in Argentina. The funding was flexible, which also allowed the Secretariat to quickly react to emerging advocacy opportunities. For instance, three Task Force members were able to travel to Ottawa to present at IDRC’s Gender Series and engage directly with civil servants from the Canadian government engaged with the G7 process. The UK Embassy, British Council and Argentine Ministry of Labour are also examples of donors who provided other forms of ad hoc funding in response to specific opportunities. It is important to note though that these opportunities were heavily tied to a country or institutional affiliation, as well as the affinity of the donor for the particular expert area of an individual task force member.

A survey with GEE members indicated that 57% of respondents who did not attend the T20 Summit were unable to do so because of a lack of funding. Funding also affected the Secretariat’s choices when planning for the T20 Summit panel events. In fact, one of the donors only funded speakers that were involved with their institution. Limited or conditional funding meant that the Secretariat could not invite certain high-level speakers to speak at the advocacy events.

Funding Methods and Raising Funds

The following is a list of possible funding sources that could be considered by a future Gender Task Force within the Think 20: › The T20 organisation, › Obtaining international, national or local government grants; › Obtaining funding from international development organisations; › Applying to specific funding opportunities from Universities and think tanks; › Receiving support from Embassies and others

Gender Economic Equity 25 8.OUTCOMES: WHAT HAPPENED AT THE END

G20 Employment and Development Working Groups

The advocacy work carried out by the GEE Secretariat in Buenos Aires at various closed meetings with civil servants led to invitations to present at two closed events by the Sherpa Governmental track: tan Employment Working Group meeting and a Development Working Group meeting. The participants at these fora were representatives from the Employment and Development Ministries from all G20 members. This allowed for the GEE Task Force recommendations to reach two target audiences: the Employment Ministries and Development Ministries representatives from G20 countries.

Following the presentation during the Development Working Group and various correspondence with the Secretariat, several recommendations proposed by the GEE were incorporated into the Working Group’s document on Early Childhood Development.

+ DEVELOPMENT WORKING GROUP G20 INITIATIVE FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

“We remain concerned about the responsibility for unpaid care work falling disproportionately on women and girls, leaving them less time for education, leisure, self-care, political, social and economic participation, paid work and other economic activities. We therefore underscore the importance of offering quality childcare and ECD policies that promote shared responsibilities between parents in caregiving and domestic work, such as paid pa- rental leave. This would increase women’s employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, including greater access to decent employment, and young women’s access to education, skills development and completion of their studies. These interventions reinforce our strong commitment to further reduce the gender gap in labour force participation rates in line with the related goal committed to in the G20 Brisbane Communiqué and to implement the policy priorities endorsed by G20 Labour and Employment Ministers, which are necessary to ensure women’s economic empowerment.”

Source: G20 Development Working Group (2018): G20 Initiative for Early Childhood Devel- opment. Retrieved from: https://www.g20.org/en/g20-argentina/work-streams/development

26 ADVOCACY WITHIN THE T20: A TOOLKIT FOR GENDER EQUALITY EXPERTS Challenges

Dissemination and Meaningful Participation Language was a major barrier for the dissemination and communication of the GEE key messages and recommendations to broader audiences. Like the rest of the G20 process, the T20 printed documents and publications were published in English only. The T20 Inception Workshop and the T20 Summit were also conducted in English, although the main sessions benefited from English to Spanish and Spanish to English interpretation. In this way, language became an important barrier for all non-En- glish speakers. Future T20 task forces could fundraise to ensure that

+ ENGAGING WITH CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS

In Argentina, a group of representatives from women’s rights organisations, a number of them W20 Members and Chairs of other Engagement Groups launched the Women Human Rights’ Defenders Observatory for the W20. The main objective of this Observa- tory, as stated by one of its founding members, was to monitor the work of the W20 and ensure that the agreements reached in Berlin during the German Presidency of the G20 in 2017 were maintained. The group also aimed at advocating to ensure that gender was mainstreamed across all G20 processes, as well as connecting the G20 agenda with other international declarations and agreements such as those resulting from Commission on the Status of Women and the Sustainable Development Goals.19

The Observatory and other civil society organisations were critical of the W20 for not being truly representative of the women they were speaking for. The Development Alterna- tives for Women in a New Area (DAWN) and other feminist organisations under the name “Feminist Forum Against the G20” held a workshop to discuss and reject the Women20 Summit held in Buenos Aires in October.20 Feminist organisations also criticised the fact that the W20 and other groups were endorsing a neoliberal model that was harming, as opposed to empowering women. The W20 has been criticized by multiple international feminist organisations and groups for not being truly representative of the women they are speaking for.

For future reference, and in order to make the most out of the opportunity of hosting a G20, the W20 and spaces such as the GEE Task Force could make more of an effort to work in closer collaboration with local feminists and women’s rights experts.

19 Retrieved from: http://feim.org.ar/2017/11/27/se-presento-el-observatorio-mujeres20/ 20 Retrieved from: http://dawnnet.org/2018/10/feminists-against-the-sham-of-the-w20-not-in-our-name/

Gender Economic Equity 27 3 SECTION Key lessons learnt 1. GENDER WITHIN THE G20

As stated by Chatham’s House recent publication New Frontiers in Gender-responsive Governance: Five Years of the W20 21, women and gender equality remain at the margin of the G20. The research paper also finds that there is a real risk that the space attained by the G20 could easily be pushed back.

One of the main difficulties in working on gender issues within the G20 is in obtaining, monitoring and sharing data on G20 commitments. For instance, whilst the OECD has the mandate to monitor the ´25 by 25’ commitment, monitoring has been weak.

In terms of the Think 20, the main lesson learnt from the GEE Task Force is that many gender experts are not aware that the G20 can be a space for international advocacy for gender equality and women’s rights. In fact, the recent publication by Chatham House cited above does not mention the GEE Task Force, despite the fact that two of the W20 Policy Briefs were jointly developed with the Think 20 Gen- der Economic Equity Task Force.

This point also become apparent during the organization of a GEE meeting at the Overseas Develop- ment Institute (ODI) in London in July 2018. Anecdotal evidence suggested that gender experts working on international development did not know of, or prioritize, the G20 in their international advocacy workplans.

In a survey conducted in November 2018 with GEE Task Force members, the results also pointed in this direction. Out of the 13 survey responses, the Secretariat found that: › Only 50% of members surveyed knew about the role and function of the T20 before joining the Task Force, with 33% of respondents stating that they knew nothing about the role and functions of the task force before joining › 50% of the members surveyed found out about the Task Force through a direct invitation from the GEE Secretariat, and 42% learnt about it through a colleague or their Institution › 75% of members knew about the G20’s purpose and processes before joining the Task Force

21 Chatham House (2018), New Frontiers in Gender-responsive Governance: Five Years of the W20. Retrieved from: https://www.chathamhouse.org/publication/new-frontiers-gender-responsive-governance-five-years-w20 (6/11/2018)

30 ADVOCACY WITHIN THE T20: A TOOLKIT FOR GENDER EQUALITY EXPERTS 2.TASK FORCE DYNAMICS, PARTICIPATION AND CONTINUITY

In terms of meaningful participation from the Task Force members at events, this was heavily condi- tioned by whether funding was available. This might have had an impact on the ability and reach of the messages developed by the Task Force.

83% of members surveyed stated that they were able to participate in the Task Force the way they had hoped to. This included participating in the drafting of Policy Briefs, attending and speaking at events on the GEE key messages and recommendations. From the remaining 17%, two respondents stated that they were not able to participate in the way they had hoped to because of limited time and funding, or because they joined too late in the process.

In terms of the dynamics within the Task Force, one respondent answered that they felt “very much included and part of the group, and that [they] would have liked to have done more,” whilst another member stated that they felt valued, and that their suggestions were taken into account. Finally, one of the respondents stated that they felt very well guided by the Task Force Co-Chairs.

A question about whether GEE members would want to engage with the Think 20 on gender equity issues in the future showed that 92% of respondents would want to continue working within this space, whether by drafting and reviewing Policy Briefs or speaking and participating at events.

3.THE T20 SUMMIT AND COMMUNIQUÉ

The impact of the GEE Task Force within the T20 and the G20 more generally can be interpreted on different levels. The T20 Communiqué shows a very significant increase in the mentions of “gender” and “women” compared to the 2017 T20 Communiqué, and it incorporated entire sections to address the problems and recommendations regarding gender economic equity within the G20 and beyond.

Furthermore, the GEE was significantly represented at the T20 Summit, with one plenary panel, two parallel panels and one side event touching upon different priorities. However, when surveyed, only 17% of members surveyed found that the GEE agenda had been meaningfully integrated into the agenda and discussions at the Summit, and 17% found that it had been integrated “just right”. The remaining 66% found that the GEE agenda had only been “somewhat” integrated into the Summit. When asked whether gender equality more broadly had been mainstreamed across the Summit, 50% of respondents stated “yes”, 33% “somewhat” and only 17% stating “no”.

Whilst the GEE Task Force made an effort to mainstream gender throughout the Think20, not all Task Forces addressed the gendered implications of the issues they were focusing on. This meant that, while

Gender Economic Equity 31 women were represented on all panels at the T20 Summit, many panels and Key Note speeches were gender-blind. Future T20s could make a commitment to mainstreaming gender across all Task Forces by ensuring that at least one of the Policy Briefs developed by each expert group deals with the gendered implications of the recommendations they present.

Graph 1: Did you find that gender equality was mainstreamed across the Summit?

Source: GEE Task Force Survey to Members, October 2018

4.SECRETARIAT AND INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

The Secretariat, comprised of the two Co-Chairs and the Coordinator, had an active role throughout the T20 process. Having a Co-Chair and Coordinator based in Buenos Aires was particularly significant as it allowed for regular meetings with key actors, including other engagement groups, governmental groups and actors within the Argentine government. Being based at CIPPEC also meant sharing an office with the Think 20 Team, which allowed for a fluid exchange of information and opportunities between the teams.

When consulted, two thirds of the GEE Task Force members thought the Secretariat had communicated with them “just about right”, with the remaining 30% of respondents wishing the Secretariat had communicated more often.22 This shows the relevance of having a dedicated Coordinator staying in touch with members, sharing news and opportunities for advocacy and engagement.

22 GEE Task Force Survey to Members, October 2018.

32 ADVOCACY WITHIN THE T20: A TOOLKIT FOR GENDER EQUALITY EXPERTS 5.TAKEAWAYS

The significant gains in women’s rights and gender equality globally in recent decades are under threat in the current social, economic and political climate. As a key global policymaking forum, there is a need for an ever stronger voice on gender equity issues to ensure that the G20 delivers for women. The creation of a Gender Economic Equity Task Force within the Think 20 was an effective way to strengthen the gender equity agenda and mainstream gender issues more broadly during the Argentine Presiden- cy of the G20. This effort required political will on behalf of the country presiding the G20, as well as interest and a commitment to gender equity on behalf of the institutions Co-Chairing the Think 20 Engagement Group.

The work carried out by the Think 20 Gender Economic Equity Task Force in 2018 shows that spaces can be secured to mainstream gender within the G20 agenda and processes, and that the T20 Engage- ment Group is an effective platform from which to do so. However, key lessons have been learnt. For greatest impact, a Secretariat and experts engaged in the T20 must seize and maximise strategic opportunities early in the process. At the same time, a lack of sustainable and comprehensive financing remains a key barrier to the participation of gender experts and their institutions in both G20 and T20 advocacy. Experts and scholars must be provided with the resources necessary to ensure they are able to engage meaningfully with the Task Force, to cover their time to draft and review policy briefs as well as to fund their international travel for strategic advocacy at key G20 fora. Finally, increasingly robust international-level monitoring and accountability mechanisms are crucial to ensure that G20 countries fully deliver on their commitments to advancing gender economic equity and women’s rights.

Gender Economic Equity 33 ANNEX 1 T20 Communiqué’s section on Gender Economic Equity

In all societies, women are overrepresented among the poorest segments of the population. And while women’s labor inclusion has increased in the last decades, gaining global momentum in the 1990s, wide gender gaps persist. Evidence suggests that women’s economic empowerment is conducive to sustainable growth. G20 leaders have on several instances recognized the relevance of advancing women’s labor inclusion. In 2014, the Brisbane Leaders’ Statement made the explicit commitment to reduce the gender labor market participation gap by 25% by 2025 (otherwise known as “25 by 25”).

Despite this, G20 countries have yet to translate these agreements into concrete domestic measures and public policies with specific budgets attached to them. Gender needs to be mainstreamed in policymaking at national and subnational levels, by designing and implementing policy processes to systematically include a gender focus, by gender budgeting, and by improving the collection and dissemination of gender-disaggregated Data.

Proposal 11: Adopt policies that recognize, reduce and redistribute unpaid care and domestic work to relax constraints on women’s time and achieve the 25 by 25 goal

To relax constraints on women’s time and facilitate their labor market participation, we invite G20 countries to adopt policies that recognize, reduce, and redistribute unpaid care and domestic work. More concretely, we urge the G20 to:

› Remove legal barriers to women’s economic empowerment: Abolish discriminatory policies, laws, and regulations that prevent or restrict women’s agency. G20 development donors should require reform in the legal framework governing women’s economic participation as a condition of official development assistance. Enact legislation to ensure women’s equal access to assets and resources, including credit, land ownership and inheritance. Promote laws that guarantee equal pay for equal work. Reform inequitable laws and regulations and ensure legal protection and non-discrimination. Prevent violence against women and girls in all contexts, including the work- place; › Foster women’s entrepreneurship and self-employment: Develop infrastructure (e.g. internet access) to enable non-urban entrepreneurs to access the market, raise funds, participate in online training programs, and build and maintain social networks. Implement technical and vocational training and skill development programs, incubators and accelerators to foster start up and scale up of operations, and infrastructure to improve women’s access to the market. Ensure social secu- rity protection and family policies (e.g. family leaves) for the self-employed; › Break the glass walls by fostering women in traditionally male-dominated sectors; implement vocational training and skills development in emerging fields and support women and girls’ enrolment; and set specific targets for female enrolment in STEM university degrees. › Promote investment to provide quality care services to reduce the burden of care and domestic work and measure the real contribution of unpaid work on national accounts.

Gender Economic Equity 35 ADVOCACY WITHIN THE T20: A toolkit for gender equality experts